The Day She Met Him
by Heroes Fly-Minho's Hero Limps
Summary: Part One of The Day She Died: "She'd never had a job before. And certainly not one like this. One where she would work with the person she looked up to, the Voice she heard over the radio every night." (The little-known story of Desert Bluffs and Intern Vanessa)


_Does my hair look okay? Do my clothes look okay? Does my face look okay?_

Seriously, if her thoughts didn't stop spiraling in this direction, she was going to save her new boss a lot of trouble and just quit now. But surely she had some right to be worried, right? She was starting her new job, at a new place, and it was more than a little scary for her. She'd never had a job before. And certainly not one like this. One where she would work with the person she looked up to, the Voice she heard over the radio every night.

Bracing herself, she tugged at the hem of her black tee and then stepped back to admire her work in the mirror. Brown eyes stared back at her from a fair-skinned face, ringed by almost-black hair. Her hair ended barely above her shoulders and let everyone see the lettering printed across the breast pocket of her T-shirt: DBCR INTERN. A little sun winked up at her beneath that. She looked pretty good, if she did say so herself. Shawn had insisted that jeans and tennis shoes were okay for work, as she would have a lot of running around to do anyway.

"Okay," she murmured, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a whoosh. "Here we go."

-x-x-x-

The outside of the Desert Bluffs Community Radio station was bold and inviting: painted black with grand accents of flashy yellow and with a sun set into both glass double doors. She gazed up at the tower for a long while. There was the noise of people behind her, walking to work on the sidewalks or taking children to school. She'd passed Josephine on the way here and had stammered a nervous hello. Now there was no more stalling. This was it. She was going to do it. If she didn't walk in now, she would be late. So there was no going back.

Steeling herself, she pushed through the doors.

And nearly ran straight into an older woman inside.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" she babbled, as the woman yelped and fumbled to keep her stack of folders in her hands.

The woman had hair the color of autumn, prettily curled and matching the rims of her glasses. The front of her pale cardigan had a pin on it proclaiming ANNE BAKER, DBCR. "Oh, no, it's all right, dear," she exhaled, once the folders were secure in her arms again. "Happens all the time, I'm used to it by now."

"O—okay..." What a way to start the job. Plowing a nice old lady over. Gods.

Ms. Baker gave the girl a curious look then, a smile twitching her lips. "Are you the new intern?"

"Oh, um, yes," she replied, straightening up. "I'm Vanessa."

"Vanessa," Ms. Baker repeated. "What a lovely name. My name is Anne, and please, feel free to ask me about any questions you might have." Sighing, she adjusted her grip on the folders. "It's been so long since we've had an intern around here." Then she sent Vanessa a sweet smile. "I'm so excited for you to work with us."

Vanessa's heart warmed. Maybe this wasn't such a bad start after all. "Really? I'm a little nervous," she admitted.

"Don't be," Ms. Baker replied at once. "You'll love it here. We all do."

"How many people work here?" Vanessa asked, as Ms. Baker started down the hallway leading deeper into the station. Vanessa trailed alongside her, listening to the sounds of footsteps behind doors and muffled conversations.

"Quite a few. The Shawns works in the back a lot and then there's Station Management. Although you shouldn't talk to them too much," Ms. Baker added over her shoulder. "Let's see, there's Kevin, of course, and once in a while Loretta will stop by with sweets for all of us."

Vanessa smiled at the mention of sweets and ignored the jump in her heartbeat at the mention of the Voice of Desert Bluffs. "It sounds like this is a really nice place to work."

"Oh it is," Ms. Baker replied, hazel eyes soft. "You'll love it, I'm sure. Once you get your things together, Kevin will help you—Oh! Speak of the devil, there he is." Pausing, she switched her folders to one hand and pointed down the hall.

Vanessa followed her gaze with her pulse suddenly feeling like it was going to pound out of her. Oh. _Oh_. He was nothing like what she'd expected. Lithe limbs blacker than midnight and hair that drifted above his head like spilled ink. She'd heard that he seemed to be...living shadow, but she'd never expected that that could be sort-of...beautiful. The otherworldly look was softened by his slacks and button-down, paired with a sunny vest and striped tie. He was walking past with a boy by his side, wearing a similar shirt to Vanessa's and taking notes on a clipboard.

As he walked, he spoke, and his Voice was smoother than snakes over sand.

"...should really try to go to that party the mayor's holding tonight. There's bound to be plenty to report about there. Oh, and tell Shawn that he should really—"

"Kevin!" Ms. Baker called, and Vanessa squeaked in alarm. Ohmygod, no, she couldn't talk to him yet, she wasn't prepared. Ms. Baker gestured with an arm toward the wide-eyed girl standing frozen next to her. "Your new intern is here!"

Amber eyes flicked to her and Vanessa felt even more immobile than she had before. She watched in faint awe as a radiant smile spread across his face. Immediately switching directions, he walked over to stand in front of her, _right in front of her._ He smelled like honey and a wonderfully sweet cologne. Vanessa was going to die. "Hi!" Kevin greeted, with all of the cheer he put into his broadcasts. "You must be Vanessa."

"I—Um, yes," she stammered. She offered a wobbly smile.

Then she blinked as he held out a hand invitingly. "Very nice to meet you," he replied. "I'm Kevin. You might've known that, but I think I should introduce myself anyway."

"Oh. Uh." Awkward, she took his hand to shake. Fascinating. He was shadow, but solid, with a skin of his own that she could feel, touch. It was incredible. Swallowing, she lifted her eyes to his face. He was still smiling that genuine, warm smile and up close she could see the crescents where his second eyelids were. His tie was the slightest bit crooked and she had the irrational urge to fix it. "It's really nice to meet you," she managed."I look forward to working here."

"And I look forward to working with you," he said brightly. "And don't be so shy. What kind of radio host would I be if I didn't make my interns feel welcome?"

Her smile forced its way out of her like sunlight, giddy. "Okay," she replied. "Thanks, Kevin." His name felt nice on her tongue and she knew right then that she was going to find more opportunities to say it.

"You're very welcome. Now, if you two would excuse me, Shawn and I have a party to plan." Kevin shared a look with Ms. Baker and then rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Don't act like you hate parties, Kevin," Ms. Baker scolded, chuckling at his antics. "You know that you won't send a reporter; you'll go yourself."

"Maybe I'm sick of the mayor's parties now, you never know," he returned airily. Turning away from her he headed back toward Shawn, who was waiting with his clipboard. As he went, Kevin waved a hand flippantly. "Really, I'm getting too old for this job, Anne."

Ms. Baker laughed, a sarcastic "ha!" "If you're getting too old, then I should have retired years ago," she flashed back.

"Yeah, except you can't."

"And why is that?"

"You know you love me too much."

"Ugh." Ms. Baker sent a glance heavenward, before sending an amused half-smile Vanessa's way. "Cheeky radio host," she teased and Kevin tossed her a vibrant grin over his shoulder. His gaze met Vanessa's then and he winked playfully. Vanessa was pretty sure her heart stopped.

Ms. Baker blew out a breath the moment the he turned back to talk to Shawn. Slanting a glance to Vanessa, she propped a hand on her hip. "So," she said, "what do you think?"

Vanessa fiddled with the hem of her T-shirt, sure that she was blushing. "He seems very nice," she ventured. Her eyes drifted to him talking to Shawn, his shoulders outlined sharply by his white shirt. _And awfully handsome._

"Yes, well, wait until you've worked with him for a while," Ms. Baker joked. "Then you'll want to hit him upside the head on a daily basis."

Laughing, Vanessa followed her as she began to lead the way to Vanessa's new work station. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel lighter inside, like her toes barely touched the ground.

Something told her this job wouldn't be so bad. Not so bad at all.


End file.
